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Juvenile Euthynnus lineatus and Auxis tbazard from the Pacific Ocean off Central America MILNER B. SCHAEFER AND JOHN C. MARR 1 1 South Pacific Investigations, U. S. Fish and W ild· life Service. Published by permission of the Director of the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Manuscript received March 25, 1948. Adults of this species are occasionally cap- tured in Central American waters incidentally to the tuna fishery. Four specimens were examined by us in the early spring of 1947. Two of these were captured in a bait-net in the Gulf of Nicoya, Costa Rica, on February 22; these fish, one male and one female, had IN A PREVIOUS PAPER (Schaefer and Marr, in press), juvenile stages of two commercially important tunas, N eothunnus macropterus (Temminck and Schlegel) and Katsuwonus pelamis ( Linnaeus) were described. They were taken, with dip nets at night, under flood lights, in the oceanic waters of the Pacific off Costa Rica and northern Panama. At some of the same stations where these were taken, and at others, juveniles of two other species of scombroid fishes which have been identified as Euthynnus lineatus Kis- hinouye, the black skipjack, and Auxis thaz- ard (Lacepede) , the frigate mackerel, were captured by the same means. Neither of these is utilized by the American commercial fish- ery in the Pacific. The black skipjack of the Asiatic side of the Pacific, E. yaito Kishinouye, however, is of considerable commercial im- portancero the Japanese fishery and it may be expected that E. lineatus will eventually be similarly exploited. Commercial catches of frigate mackerel in the middle Atlantic states averaged slightly over 100 tons in 1942-44 (Fiedler, 1945; "Anderson and Power, 1946, 1947). Euthynnus Iineatus Kishinouye 1920 gonads in a very advanced stage of maturity. A female with running-ripe eggs was taken on a trolled feather jig off Quepos Point; Costa Rica, on April 4. A ripe male was taken in a purse seine haul off Cape Blanco, Costa Rica, on April 29. It is thus apparent that this species . spawns in Central American waters during the early spring. The capture of juveniles further confirms this. Juveniles were taken at the following sta- tions on die dates indicated: 08° 20' N., 84° 10' W., March 18, 1947; 8 specimens, 48 to 86 mm. total length. 09° 20' N., 85° 20' W., March 19, 1947; 10 specimens, 29 to 56 mm. total length. 09° 10' N., 85° 20' W., March 20, 1947; 1 specimen, 61 mm. total length. (All total lengths in this paper are from tip of snout to tip of shortest median caudal ray.) In Figures 1 and 2 representative specimens of these juveniles are depicted. They are rela- tively less deep bodied than the juveniles of N eothunnus of the same sizes, being similar in this regard to Katsuwonus, from which, how- ever,they may easily be distinguished by the pigmentation of the first dorsal fin. The entire first dorsal is heavily pigmented in EuthynnuJ of all sizes collected, while in Katsuwonus, up to 44 mm. at least, there is only a light pig- mentation of the anterior margin and of the distal edge of the fin. The second dorsal fin remains completely unpigmented in fish up to about 45 mm. total length, at which size the fin begins to show some pigment at the bases of the rays. In our largest specimen, 86 mm. total length, the second dorsal is fairly dark about half way to the tips of the rays, the distal half remaining unpigmented. The pigmentation of the head and body is similar to that of Katsuwonus at (262 J

Juvenile Euthynnus lineatus and Auxis tbazard from the ...Juvenile Euthynnus lineatus and Auxis tbazard from the Pacific Ocean off Central America MILNER B. SCHAEFER AND JOHN C. MARR1

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Page 1: Juvenile Euthynnus lineatus and Auxis tbazard from the ...Juvenile Euthynnus lineatus and Auxis tbazard from the Pacific Ocean off Central America MILNER B. SCHAEFER AND JOHN C. MARR1

Juvenile Euthynnus lineatus and Auxis tbazard from the Pacific Ocean offCentral America

MILNER B. SCHAEFER AND JOHN C. MARR1

1 South Pacific Investigations, U. S. Fish and W ild·life Service. Published by permission of the Directorof the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Manuscriptreceived March 25, 1948.

Adults of this species are occasionally cap­tured in Central American waters incidentallyto the tuna fishery. Four specimens wereexamined by us in the early spring of 1947.Two of these were captured in a bait-net inthe Gulf of Nicoya, Costa Rica, on February22; these fish, one male and one female, had

IN A PREVIOUS PAPER (Schaefer and Marr, inpress), juvenile stages of two commerciallyimportant tunas, N eothunnus macropterus(Temminck and Schlegel) and Katsuwonuspelamis (Linnaeus) were described. Theywere taken, with dip nets at night, underflood lights, in the oceanic waters of thePacific off Costa Rica and northern Panama.At some of the same stations where thesewere taken, and at others, juveniles of twoother species of scombroid fishes which havebeen identified as Euthynnus lineatus Kis­hinouye, the black skipjack, and Auxis thaz­ard (Lacepede) , the frigate mackerel, werecaptured by the same means. Neither of theseis utilized by the American commercial fish­ery in the Pacific. The black skipjack of theAsiatic side of the Pacific, E. yaito Kishinouye,however, is of considerable commercial im­portancero the Japanese fishery and it may beexpected that E. lineatus will eventually besimilarly exploited. Commercial catches offrigate mackerel in the middle Atlantic statesaveraged slightly over 100 tons in 1942-44(Fiedler, 1945; "Anderson and Power, 1946,1947).

Euthynnus Iineatus Kishinouye 1920

gonads in a very advanced stage of maturity.A female with running-ripe eggs was taken ona trolled feather jig off Quepos Point; CostaRica, on April 4. A ripe male was taken in apurse seine haul off Cape Blanco, Costa Rica,on April 29. It is thus apparent that this species

. spawns in Central American waters during theearly spring. The capture of juveniles furtherconfirms this.

Juveniles were taken at the following sta­tions on die dates indicated : 08° 20' N., 84°10' W., March 18, 1947; 8 specimens, 48 to86 mm. total length. 09° 20' N., 85° 20' W.,March 19, 1947; 10 specimens, 29 to 56 mm.total length. 09° 10' N., 85° 20' W., March20, 1947; 1 specimen, 61 mm. total length.(All total lengths in this paper are from tipof snout to tip of shortest median caudal ray.)

In Figures 1 and 2 representative specimensof these juveniles are depicted. They are rela­tively less deep bodied than the juveniles ofNeothunnus of the same sizes, being similar inthis regard to Katsuwonus, from which, how­ever,they may easily be distinguished by thepigmentation of the first dorsal fin. The entirefirst dorsal is heavily pigmented in EuthynnuJof all sizes collected, while in Katsuwonus, upto 44 mm. at least, there is only a light pig­mentation of the anterior margin and of thedistal edge of the fin.

The second dorsal fin remains completelyunpigmented in fish up to about 45 mm. totallength, at which size the fin begins to showsome pigment at the bases of the rays. In ourlargest specimen, 86 mm. total length, thesecond dorsal is fairly dark about half way tothe tips of the rays, the distal half remainingunpigmented. The pigmentation of the headand body is similar to that of Katsuwonus at

(262 J

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Juvenile Turias--:-SCHAEFER "and "MARR " " 263

FIG. 1. Photograph of juvenile Euthynnus lineatus Kishinouye.

the smailer sizes, but the snout and anterior partof the head is rather more extensively pig­mented in the smaller Euthynnus of these col­lections than in either Katsuwonus or Neo­thutlnuS of similar sizes. On the smaller of ourspecimens of EuthyntlUS the lateral pigmentationdoes not extend far below the mid-line, butthere is a conspicuous series of black spotsalong the bases of the anal fin and followingfinlets. As the fish increase in size the pigmen­tation extends further down the sides, par­ticularly posteriorly, until at about 45 mm. thepigmentation at the level "of the anal fin ex­tends the entire depth of the fish, althoughshading off ventrally. By the time the fish has"reached 55 mm. the entire head is rather dark,the body is almost black dorsally, shading off

gradually to a white belly. In some specimensof about 45 mm. to 60 mm. the pigment on theupper sides is concentrated to form 8 or 9extremely faint vertical bars. In the 86 mm.specimen these are not visible. The peritoneumbears numerous large dark spots dorsally whichare visible through the body wall in smallspecimens. The caudal fin begins to exhibitsome pigmentation in fishes of about 50 mm.total length.

In addition to the examination of specimenspreserved in alcohol, two specimens of 54 mm.and 56 mm. were prepared for study of bonyparts by staining with alizarin and clearing,after the method of Hollister (1934). Thepectoral fin in the two stained specimens ' has29 rays and 27 rays, respectively. These rays

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PACIFIC 'SCIENCE, Vol. II, October, 1948

FIG. 2. Juvenile Buthynnus lineatus; photographed against a white background to illustrate pigmentation of. dorsal fin.

cannot be counted accurately in unstained in­dividuals because of the small size of the mostinferior rays. The dorsal fin has 15 spines insix specimens examined and 14 in a seventh,the first or second anterior spines, which areof nearly equal length, being the longest andthe remaining spines decreasing in length rapid­ly and successively. The first dorsal reachesalmost to the insertion of the second. The sec­ond dorsal fin rays, counted in 5 specimens, are12 in number, and there are in each case8 dorsalfinlets, The anal fin has 11 or 12 rays, and thereare 7 anal finlers, The rays of the second dorsal

and anal are difficult to count except in stainedmaterial because of the shortness of the first oneor two rays. The finlers are connected to eachother and to the fin by a thin .membrane whichextends less and less far toward the tips of thefinlets as the fish grow until in the largest speci­men of 86 mm. it is only a vestige between thebases of the finlets.

The gill rakers of our smallest specimens arevery tiny projections on the gill arches andare difficult to count accurately. On such aspecimen, of 32 rom. total length, they werecounted on the first gill arch as 7 + 20. As the

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Juvenile Tunas-SCHAEFER and MAIm 265

fish increase in size the gill rakers not only in­crease rapidly in length, but their number ap­parently increases. Counts of rakers on the firstarch on specimens of various sizes are as fol­lows:

The vertebrae, counting the urostyle, are19 + 18 in one stained specimen and 20 + 17in the other. They bear large inferior foraminaon the last three or four precaudal vertebraeand on the first nine or ten caudal vertebrae.The haemal canal is very large, being broaderthan the body of the vertebrae beneath theprecaudal and anterior caudal vertebrae. Thelateral processes of the posterior caudal ver­tebrae are well developed in both specimens;there are no lateral processes on the anteriorprecaudal vertebrae. The first complete haemalarch was found to be on the 15th vertebra bydissection of the 56 mm. specimen.

Specimens of all sizes in our collection haveabout 20 to 30 conical, inwardly curved teethon each side of each jaw. The palatines eachbear a row of eight to ten rather large conicalteeth. The vomer bears four or five rathersmall teeth which may be easily overlooked.

Our very smallest specimens, of about 30mm., have visible the remnants of three spinesat the lower posterior angle of the preopercle.In larger specimens the growth of the bonehas completely obliterated these. Smaller speci­mens than those in our collection may be pre­sumed, by analogy with Neothunnus, to havemore prominent and perhaps more numerouspreopercular spines.

The intestine of these specimens, as is char­acteristic of the Katsuwonidae, is relativelystraight and is not folded. It runs back alongthe right inferior portion of the stomach. Theliver is in three lobes, the right lobe being verymuch longer than the other two. In sevenspecimens examined, the right lobe of the liver

48mm.52mm.61mm.86mm.

8+259 + 25

10 + 2611 +27

extended posteriorly rhree-fourrhs or more ofthe length of the body cavity.

That these specimens belong to either thegenus Ettthynnus or Katsuwonus is iridiCatedby the morphology of the vertebral column,The well-developed :inferior foramina on someprecaudal as well as caudal vertebrae, formingwith the very large haemal arches the so-called"trellis," ischaracrerisric of these genera (Starks,1910; Kishinouye, 1923).

These specimens have several charactersagreeing with Ettthynnus but not Katsuwonus.The very great elongation of the right lobe ofthe liver is definitive. In Katsuwonus, both inadults described by Kishinouye 0923: 363,450, and 453, Fig. N) and by Godsil andByers (1944: 11, 30), and in juveniles describedby Schaefer and Marr (in press), die rightlobe, although much larger than the other two,is not nearly as large as that of these specimens,which corresponds to Kishinouye's descriptionof the liver of Ettthynntts . The first .closedhaemal arch of Katsuwonus occurs on the 12t4vertebra according to both .Kishinouye anaGodsil and Byers, whereas Kishinouye statesthat Ettthynnus has the first complete haemalarch further back, on the 16th vertebra. Thelow . vertebral ' count of our specimens is alsodefinitive, although this was a matter of 'someconcern at first because it does not agree withthe literature . Kishinouye .( 1923: 338, 452)found that Ettthynntts has 39 'vertebrae count­ing the urostyle, probably based on E. yaitoalone. He described E. lineatus from a singlespecimen from Manzanillo, Mexico, but . prob~

ably did not dissect the fish to count the verte­brae. (Kishinouye : in the Suisan Gakkwai Ho,III, 113, 1920. We have been unable to

examine this reference and our information isfrom Kishinouye, 1923.) He differentiates thisspecies from E. yaito on the coloration and therelative size of the head. In his discussions heassumes all species of Euthynnus to have 39vertebrae. This matter was cleared up throughthe kind cooperation of C. R. Clothier of the

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266

California State Fisheries Laboratory, who hasexamined the skeletonsof four adults identifiedfrom Kishinouye's description as E. .lineatus.He has sent us the following. data regardingthese .specimens, the first three of which werefrom tuna-clipper landings from unknownpoints somewhere south of the Mexican border,and, the fourth of which was captured off Espi­ritu Santu Island in the Gulf of California:

Specimen number.................. 1 2 3 4Vertebra bearing Isr haemal

arch.................................... - 16 15 16Total vertebrae (including

urostyle) ............................ 37 39 37 37Abdominal vertebrae .....',...... - 21 19 20Caudal vertebrae.................... - 18 18 17

, Three of these four specimens have 37vertebrae, corresponding with our juveniles,and disagreeing with Kishinouye. Mr. Clothierhas also advised us that, in addition, H. C.Godsil of the same laboratory, has examinedtwo specimens from near Magdalena Bay eachof, which had 37 vertebrae. It appears that E.lineatus has 37 vertebrae as a rule. The verte­brae counts of our juveniles agree, then, withthose of adult E. lineatus identified from othercharacters. All other characters examinedagree well enough with Kishinouye's descrip­tions, and it was therefore concluded that thesewere juveniles of E. lineatus.

.There are few references to juvenile Euthyn­nus in the literature. Kishinouye's (1923: 388)smallest specimens, 13 em. in length, from theAsiatic side of the Pacific, were larger than anyof ours. He described' them as follows: "Theyare very slender and have eight or more trans­verse bands on the side. These bands are nearlyvertical and fade toward the ventral median line.When they grow to a total length of 19 em,the body becomes very broad, the thoracic spotsappear, the bands gradually disappear from theventral part and the dorsal part of the bandsbecomes oblique:'

Ehrenbaum (1924) found among the Medi­terranean collections of the Danish Oceano­graphical Expeditions six young tunas, 5.9 to

PACIFIC SCIENCE, Vol. II, October, 1948

10.1 rom. in length, which he referred toEuthynl1us alliteratus (Raf.) . He differentiatedthese specimens from those of Auxis thazardonly with great difficulty, on the basis of thefirst dorsal rays. The identification seems doubt­ful, but, since none of our specimens 'of Eu­thynnus areas small as Ehrenbaum's, we can­not verify it.

Auxis thazard (Lacepede) 1802

As is the case with many of the scombroids,there is some doubt as to whether there is asingle cosmopolitan speciesof Auxis or whetherdifferent species occur in different parts of theworld. The solution of this problem is be­yond the scope of this paper and our juvenilesare referred to Auxis tbazard. No adult speci­mens were examined by us during this voyage,but the capture of juveniles indicates that thisspecies spawns in Central American Pacificwaters during the early spring. Juveniles weretaken at the following stations on the datesindicated: 08° 20' N., 84° 10' W.; March 18,1947; 2 specimens, 67 and68 mrn, total length.09° 43' N., 85° 54' W.; March 19, 1947; 52specimens, 21 to 53 mm. total length. 08° 7'30" N., 83° 8' 30" W.; May 7, 1947; 3 speci­mens, 23 to 41 mm. total length. 09° 43' N.,85° 54' W.; May 17, 1947; 1 specimen,42 mm.total length. Through the courtesy of Dr. J. T.Nichols, we were also able to examine 5 speci­mens, 22 to 31 mm. in total length, takenunder a light at night from the "Askoy" at04°01' N., 80° 26' W. on March 24, 1941.Nichols and Murphy (1944 : 241) suggest thatthese may be young Euthynnus, but they areundoubtedly Auxis.

Representative specimens of juvenile' A.thazard are shown in Figures 3 and 4. In thesmaller specimens the prominent areas of pig­mentation are on the upper and lower jaws,above the snout, around the postero-ventralmargin of the orbit, on the upper operculum,between the orbits, along the mid-line of thebody, along the bases of the dorsal and anal fins

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Juvenile Tunas-5cHAEFER and MARR 267

FIG. 3. Photograph of juvenile At/xis thaza,d (Lacepede) ,

including the finlets, and around the posteriorend of the urostyle, Large chromatophores inthe peritoneum show through the body . wallalong the upper half of the body cavity. Noneof the fins or finlets bears pigment spots, withthe exception of the first dorsal. The first dor­sal bears a few scattered chromatophores, large­ly distributed along the spines. However, thefirst dorsal in general appearance is virtuallycolorless, as may be seen in Figure 4, especiallyas contrasted with Euthynnus or Neothunnus.With increasing size the local areas of pigmen­tation expand. In our largest specimens thehead is well pigmented . The dorsal half of the

body is uniformly dark. This dark area extendsbelow the mid-line on the caudal peduncle.

. The chromatophores in the peritoneum are nolonger visible through the thickened body wall,and the ventral surface is unpigmented. Evenin our largest specimens none of the fins isheavily pigmented; the caudal is more pig­mented than the others.

Juvenile Auxis are rounder in cross sectionthan Ettthynnus, being relatively less com­pressed laterally. The head length and lengthof the caudal region in Auxis are less in com­parison to the total length than is the case inEuthynnus. The maxillary in Auxis generally

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268 PACIFIC SCIENCE, Vol. II, October, 1948

FIG. 4. Ju venile Auxis thazard photographed against a white background, illustrating lack of pigmentation offins.

extends to a point between the anterior marginof the iris and the vertical bisector of the iris,whereas in Euthynntts it generally extends to apoint between the vertical bisector of the irisand the posterior margin of the iris. In thesmaller specimens the lower jaw is shorter thanthe upper, but the jaws become equal at about50 mID. total length. The smallest specimenshave three spines at the angle of the preopercle,but these are gradually grown over and dis­appear at about 35 to 40 mm. total length.There are indications, on alizarin-stained speci-

mens, .that seven more spines are present insmaller individuals. Similarly, a figure of a 17.5mm, specimen of A. thazard from the Medi­terranean (deBuen, 1932: Fig. 27) shows atotal of nine preopercular spines. The lateralkeel along the caudal peduncle starts to developat about 40 mID. total length.

The large dorsal interspace characteristic ofAuxis actually contains small spines or rays.These are usually subcutaneous. Even in oursmallest specimens they are not visible unlessthe fish is cleared and stained or unless the

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Juvenile Tunas--5CHAEFER and MARR 269

the angle of the arch increase in length andnew rakers are added distally on each arm.The full complement of rakers is apparentlyattained at about 50 mm. total length, asjudged by the following counts on specimensof various sizes:

Gill raker counts on the adult specimens re­ferred to above are 12 + 34 and 11 + 32.Kishinouye (1923: 462-3) gives 9 + 30 as thegill raker count for A. hira and 10 + 36 as thecount for A. maru Kishinouye. Possible varia­tion in these counts is not mentioned. He doesnot list A. thazard, but A. maru is probablya synonym of A. thazard, as he tentatively sug­gests in his synonymy.

The nasal rosette is visible only in clearedspecimens.

The vertebrae were counted as 20 + 19 (in­cluding the urostyle) in three cleared andstained specimens. This agrees with Kishinouye(1923: 452 ) and Frade and deBuen (1932:70), but disagrees with Starks (1910: 97),who counted 22 + 15 vertebrae. On a speci­men 46 mm. total length, small ventral fora­mina are present on the 9th to 15th caudalvertebrae. On smaller specimens of 25 and 31mm. total length, these foramina are not dis­cernible, if present. In our specimens, thepedicles (of Starks = epihaemal process ofKishinouye) of the caudal vertebrae, bearingthe closed haemal arches, are extremely shortor non-existent. In a specimen of 25 mm. totallength, the haemal arches of the caudal ver­tebrae are long, wide, and elliptical. In a speci­men of 46 mm. total length, the haemal arch

specimen is shrunken from the preservative sothat the spines project above the dorsal profile.In adult Auxis from Culion, Philippine Islands,examined through courtesy of Dr. G. S. Myersof the Stanford University Natural HistoryMuseum, the interneural supports of the sup­pressed rays are well developed; the rays them­selves are vestigial, however, and can be foundonly by staining and dissection. Fin ray countson our stained juvenile specimens are as fol­lows:

mm. mm. mm.Total length of specimen. ..... 25 31 46First dorsaL ._ 11 11 11Dorsal interspace ._.____ __ 6 7 8Second dorsaL.. .._. 12 11 11Dorsal finlers__. . .__..__. 8 8 8AnaL..._.... ._... 14 13 13Anal finlers . .__.. . 7 7 7Ventral . .__._.. 7 7 7Peceoral..., .. .__.. . 22 23 25

Other, unstained, specimens also have eightdorsal finlers and seven anal finlers, In thesmaller specimens the finlets are joined by amembrane that extends completely or nearlyto their distal ends. With increasing size thismembrane becomes less prominent until in ourlongest specimens it is wanting or exists onlybetween the bases of the finlets.

_ In all our specimens, each side of the upperjaw bears about 20 small, conical teeth; eachside of the lower jaw about 25 small, conicalteeth; each palatine 6 or 7 teeth; and thevomer none. The vomer and palatines are ex­posed. Starks (1910: 97), with reference toAuxis thazard, and Kishinouye (1923: 460),with reference to the genus Auxis, state thatthere are no palatine teeth, and this is apparent­ly true in the adults. In the two adults fromCulion, Philippine Islands, the vomer and pala­tines are toothless and are not exposed. Thesespecimens are probably Auxis hira Kishinouye.

The gill rakers on the most anterior gill archof our smallest specimens are very tiny pro­jections and are difficult to count. They are firstapparent near the angle of the arch. With anincrease in the size of the fish, the rakers near

21 mm.24 mm.27 mm.32 mm.42 mm.46 mm.52 mm.54 mm.68 mm.

4 + 185 + 216 + 249 + .269 + 30

10 + 3112 + 3611 + 3511 + 31

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270

is still long, but less wide. In a specimen of72 mm. total length, the :haemal arch is stilllong, but even less wide. In fact, the pedicleis divided and contains a large part of thehaemal arch. In the two smaller specimens,the haemal arch is certainly closed on the 18thabdominal vertebra and is probably closed onthe 17th vertebia; it is definitely open on the16th vertebra. In the 72 mm. specimen, thehaemal arch is open on the 17th vertebra andclosed on the 18th. Kishinouye (1923 : 339)states that the first closed haemal arch ofAuxis occurs on the 1st caudal vertebrae(= 21st). In an adult specimen examinedthrough the courtesy of Dr. G. S. Myers, thefirst ,closed haemal arch is on the first caudalvertebra. This specimen is from Wakanoura,Japan, and is referred to AuxiJ hira. We havebeen unable to examine any adult Auxis fromthe eastern Pacific in order to attempt to re­solve this apparent discrepancy. C. R. Clothierhas informed us that one specimen from thevicinity of Sebastian Viscaino Bay and twofrom the vicinity of Espiritu Santu Island, allidentified as A. thazard, have a total of 39 verte­brae with the first haemal arch on the 21stvertebra. It seems unlikely that haemal archesthat are closed would, with growth, becomeopen. Our specimens may, therefore, be juve­niles of an undescribed species. It is notunlikely that the sides of the pedicle fuse withan increase in size of the fish so that the haemalarch becomes greatly reduced in size. The possi­bility exists, however, that it may remaindivided in this form.

The liver is divided into three lobes. Theright lobe is almost as long as the visceralcavity and bears a prominent hepatic vein onits outer surface; the other two lobes are small.The stomach is long and lies above the rest ofthe viscera. The caecal mass is considerablyshorter than the stomach. The intestine is rela­tively short, straight, and not folded. It runsposteriorly along the right inferior side of thestomach. There is no air bladder.

PACIFIC ,SCIENCE, Vol. II, October, 1948

The vertebral count, the great length of theright lobe of the liver, the presence of a caudalkeel, and the absence of an air bladder indicatethat these' juvenile scombroids belong to thefamily Katsuwonidae. The large interspacebetween the dorsal fins and the low ray countof the first dorsal, as well as the absence of theelaborate "trellis" of the vertebrae, indicatethat they are Auxis, rather than Euthynnus orKatJUwonus. In the larger specimens, gill rakerand fin ray counts will also serve to separateAuxis from the other genera. Positive specificallocation must await examination of adultspecimens from the area.

A specimen of A. thazard, 17.5 mm. long,from the Mediterranean, was described and fig­ured by deBuen (1932 : 36-38). This is some­what smaller than our smallest specimen and thedifferences between them, such as differencesin numbers of preopercular spines, etc., areprobably due to the differences in size; Sparta(1933 : 16) mentions that specimens of Auxisbisus Bonaparte (= A. thazard Lacepede) about1 em. in length have been collected under alight at night in the Straits of Messina. Ehren­baum (1924: 33-38) reported on 132 juvenileA. thazard from the Mediterranean collectionsof the Danish Oceanographical Expeditions.His largest specimen was 12 mm. in length, orabout 9 mm. shorter than our smallest specimen.Again, differenc~s between his descriptions andour specimens may probably be attributed todifferences in size. These specimens were ap­parently taken in May, July, August, and Sep­tember. He states that Sanzo found ripe ovar­ies in June and July. Sella (1924) describesMediterranean specimens of A. bisus Bonaparte(= A . thazard Lacepede) ranging from 3 to 10mm. These are much smaller than our speci­mens. He states that juveniles up to 10 to 15mm. in length are found from the second halfof June to September 20. He also mentionsthat before a length of 12 to 15 mm. is at­tained, about six rays are formed in the mem­brane connecting the first and second dorsal

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Juvenile Tunas-5CHABPBR and MARR

fins and that these rays subsequently becomecontained in the median furrow so that theyare no longer visible. This is in accord withour findings. The dates of our collections indi­cate the possibility of a somewhat e~rlier spawn­ing season for Auxis off the Pacific Coast ofCentral America.

We have been unable to examine papers bySanzo (1909, 1910) which apparently containinformation on larval and juvenile Auxis.

REFERENCES

ANDERSON, A. W., and E. A. POWER. 1946.Fishery statistics of the United States: 1942,U. S. Fish and Wildlife Seru., Stat. Dig. 11:1-248.

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